-
3 weeks ago | 
acousticguitar.com | Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers |David Hamburger |Ruth H Parry |Gretchen Menn
Think of the guitar intro to the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun,” played by George Harrison with a capo way up at the seventh fret. That passage is instantly recognizable because it introduces the song’s melody along with the chords—using common open chord shapes. In fact, Harrison continues to play the melody through much of the song, doubling his voice while holding down the rhythm.
-
1 month ago | 
acousticguitar.com | David Hamburger |Pete Madsen |Adam Perlmutter |Sean McGowan |Sean Mcgowan
Acoustic guitarists in all genres often use alternate tunings. Some of these tunings have become so prevalent that they practically identify their genre—for example, open D or G for slide blues, or DADGAD for Celtic styles. This article will focus on C G D G B E tuning (sometimes known as Hawaiian Wahine slack key), which lends itself well to a variety of styles.
-
2 months ago | 
acousticguitar.com | Alan Barnosky |David Hamburger |Adam Perlmutter |Greg Ruby
In the late 1930s, 16-year-old Barney Kessel met his musical hero, swing guitar legend Charlie Christian. When Kessel asked Christian for advice, Christian said, “The main thing is to concentrate on swing first. Then, if you can make some interesting harmony after you know how to swing, that’s fine. But to begin with, swing alone is enough to get you by.” Evidently, Kessel took Christian’s advice, as he went on to become a jazz guitar legend in his own right. But what did Christian mean by swing?
-
Jan 8, 2025 | 
acousticguitar.com | David Hamburger |Craig Havighurst |Kate Koenig |Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers
“Empty Trainload of Sky,” which kicks off Gillian Welch and David Rawlings’ latest album, Woodland, feels like an instant classic, with a sturdy melody over a loping folk-rock groove reminiscent of Neil Young—a connection the songwriters perhaps acknowledge by dropping the line “Hey hey my my” at the end of the bridge. As described in the interview here, Welch actually did experience a surreal vision of boxcars filled with sky, and built the song from that image.
-
Nov 27, 2024 | 
acousticguitar.com | Cathy Fink |David Hamburger |Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers
So far in this series of lessons on chord embellishment basics, we’ve talked about adding or changing notes in the open chord shapes—using hammer-ons and pull-offs, sus and add chord voicings, and bluesy colors. Now let’s turn our attention to the bottom of the chords: the all-important bass notes.
-
Nov 5, 2024 | 
persuasion.community | David Hamburger
After a long campaign, Election Day is finally upon us. Persuasion will be hosting a special text-based live chat for subscribers with Yascha Mounk, Francis Fukuyama, and other members of our team. You can access the chat here from 6:30pm Eastern Time onward. If you’re using a mobile device, you’ll need to download the Substack app. Open the app and tap the Chat icon, seen below (it looks like two bubbles in the bottom bar.) You’ll see a row for the Persuasion chat inside.
-
Nov 5, 2024 | 
acousticguitar.com | Gwenifer Raymond |David Hamburger |Adam Perlmutter
“Idumea,” also known as “And Am I Born to Die,” is a traditional song written by Charles Wesley and first published in Hymns for Children in 1763. It is best known as part of the canon of sacred harp—a form of a cappella choral singing that originated in New England in the 1700s and uses a simplified musical notation known as shape notes.
-
Sep 29, 2024 | 
acousticguitar.com | David Hamburger |Craig Havighurst |Jamie Stillway |Alan Barnosky
“Soldier’s Joy” is a well-known traditional tune, particularly favored by fiddle and mandolin players because much of the melody can be easily played in one position across two strings. However, on guitar it can be a lot more difficult. A two-string passage on a fiddle becomes a four-string cross-picking workout for us. Cross picking is a tough feat even at slow tempos, and “Soldier’s Joy” is almost always played fast.
-
Sep 1, 2024 | 
acousticguitar.com | Adam Perlmutter |David Hamburger |Maurice Tani
I first heard “In the Jailhouse Now” on the oldies station when I was a kid but didn’t start playing it until getting into old country as a working musician in the ’90s. Webb Pierce’s monster hit version from 1955—which spent 21 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard country chart—was a staple of every retro honky-tonk band with a back line of old tube amps and a closet full of vintage cowboy shirts and cuffed jeans.
-
Jun 14, 2024 | 
acousticguitar.com | Adam Perlmutter |David Hamburger |Danny Carnahan
This month’s Patreon song is “The Lakes of Pontchartrain,” a ballad that originated in the Southern United States that chronicles a wandering and cash-strapped man who is offered shelter by a Louisiana Creole woman. He falls in love and proposes to her, but as his luck would have it, she is already engaged to be married.
